BP set to clean up with new super fuel Ultimate with ACTIVE technology

BP’s new super fuel could signal better times ahead for the troubled oil giant.

BP chief executive Bob Dudley spoke in Berlin at the official launch of the new Ultimate brand

Analysts have given a cautious thumbs-up to its Ultimate brand with ACTIVE technology, a dirt-guzzling compound that works with vehicles of all ages, cleaning and prolonging engine life, improving performance and cutting consumption.

“It’s good for the engine, the pocket and the planet,” said chief executive Bob Dudley at the official launch last week in Germany’s advanced testing centre ADAC. The fuel though is already in most of BP’s 1,298 UK filling stations and will roll out globally to some 12,000.

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Motorists will pay a 10p per litre premium, and tank size, driving style and mileage (6,200 in total) will affect how quickly they reap the full 21 extra miles per tank benefit.

Ultimate with ACTIVE puts BP in the vanguard of super fuels and the company says the molecular technology, patents pending, means it will be able to handle any new engine developments from automotive manufacturers for the next few years.

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Ultimate with ACTIVE puts BP in the vanguard of a burgeoning super fuel market

The fuel, whose added molecules draw off and consume the sooty deposits before they can build up, took BP’s experts five years to develop.

Finding the right chemical blends that were sufficiently flexible to work across the board with all vehicles of all ages, was the biggest challenge and achievement, said two of those involved in the project, BP chemist Rob Allan and engineer Thomas Bartsch.

The innovation comes however amid plummeting oil prices and turbulent times for the business which posted a £4.5 billion loss, cut 7,000 jobs, and most recently saw a shareholder revolt over Mr Dudley’s £14 million pay deal.

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The innovation comes at a key time for BP, who recently posted a £4.5billion loss and cut 7,000 jobs

But independent oil market analyst Gaurav Sharma said: “The fuel compares favourably to other super fuels, although it seems to be newer cars that will benefit, not really older vehicles.

The fuel compares favourably to other super fuels, although it seems to be newer cars that will benefit, not really older vehicles

Gaurav Sharm, oil market analyst

“In itself the fuel is not a game-changer. That came earlier and was the clarity the market received after the announcement about the $20 billion dollar agreement with the US Government over the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.

“But coming after that agreement, which brings the stability that the market was looking for, this fuel is another move in the right direction for BP, as it seeks to put the mishaps of the past behind it. And it is in downstream side of the business where the profits are now to be made.”

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The fuel is already available in most of BP’s 1,298 UK filling stations

“While boosting the company’s green credentials, it is likely to play well given the bad publicity over the Deepwater Horizon. It would appear that BP is looking to tap into the growing clamour for greener fuels.”

More green moves from BP could be in the pipeline, suggests Sharma. “The set-up that was focused on that in Houston has never been entirely disbanded, there is still an interest in renewables.”